ODHS Recognized for Outstanding Work in Heritage Conservation
The Oliver & District Heritage Society’s museum windows restoration project has been recognized by Heritage BC with a prestigious award for Outstanding Work in Conservation. The ODHS project was one of only two in the entire province selected to receive this honour, out of a large number of nominations.
The project, which started in 2019 and finished last year, worked to restore the original wood windows on the Oliver & District Museum, the town’s former BC Provincial Police Detachment built in 1924 and a designated heritage structure, to preserve the exterior and stabilize the museum’s indoor temperatures. The careful work undertaken by local contractor Gerry Plante closely followed the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, conserving as much original material as possible, using the least invasive methods for restoration, and replacing deteriorated components with like materials.
The restoration cost $44,875 over two years and was funded by a $20,000 grant from Heritage BC’s Heritage Legacy Fund and matching funds from a donation to the Heritage Society from the late Carolyn Cope. “We are very honoured to receive this award, and we wish to thank the Town of Oliver and the Regional District for their continuing support, which has made the work possible,” stated ODHS Executive Director Julianna Weisgarber.
The task of being good stewards of local heritage is never-ending, and this year the ODHS is completing a grant-funded project to clean and repaint the museum’s exterior, as well as two smaller projects to repair an outdoor artifact shelter and to replace lighting in the 1896 Fairview Jail with fire-safe LEDs.